Topics - lafindumonde

This is the future. A new wave of robots, far more adept than those now commonly used by automakers and other heavy manufacturers, are replacing workers around the world in both manufacturing and distribution.

Not financial scams, in the sense that they aren't particularly profitable and end up being really expensive for everyone, but scams in the emotional/moral sense.

Government Subsidies - EVs are subsidized by the government at $7,500 per vehicle. That is equivalent to 1,899 gallons of gasoline at today's prices ($3.95). In a modern compact gasoline engine car (@ 40mpg) that would take you about 76,000 miles. Typical American cars are only expected to last 150,000 miles or 8 years. That means 50% of a typical vehicles lifetime operational costs are being subsidized by the government (potentially at the expensive of more effective technologies).

Cost - Even with government subsidies, in a highly comparable vehicle like the Ford Focus (40mpg gasoline car vs the EV counterpart). The EV vehicle costs $39,200 vs the $16,200 price tag for the standard version. This is *after* government subsidies. The consumer starts out negative $23,000. To even break even at this point over the Focus, the consumer would have to drive 233,000 miles. This is 150% the lifespan of a typical American vehicle. The consumer will never even make their money back - neither will the taxpayer.

eMPG - Electric vehicles get an "estimated MPG" of around 100 mpg. This is based on the cost of electricity to charge the vehicle vs the equivalent cost of gasoline. 100mpg vehicles were being built 28 years ago. 100mpg vehicles could be built easily today (e.g. diesel) if safety regulations did not require extremely heavy vehicles so people who want to SMS while they drive don't hurt themselves. 100mpg motorcycles and scooters already exist and could be made more efficient if it was worthwhile for the manufacturers.

Environmentally - EV batteries require rare minerals that require a great deal of energy to extract from the ground. The batteries themselves may have a limited lifespan, and must be recycled properly to avoid harming the environment. In other words - we're just shifting the environmental impact and making a more expensive product, but it doesn't seem to be diminishing. In addition, electricity is generated via burning coal in many states - essentially negating the "environmentally saving" impact of electric vehicles over modern gasoline engines with cleaner exhaust emissions. Hopefuls believe someday we can generate all electricity via renewable methods, but this is still a long way off.

People drive extremely inefficiently - A much simpler strategy than EVs would be to simply drive better. Extremely efficient driving has achieved record results of over 80mpg in a diesel. What if instead of battery tech, we simply used a cheap computer to steady steering, breaking and acceleration? GPS coordination and automated driving in congested areas has already been discussed, and automated vehicles are currently being worked on. Using technology to automate driving has already been proven safe in testing. If not for the fear of lawsuits and complex bureaucratic dealings it could already be available to consumers. Using this technology in modern gasoline engines could easily create vehicles that already show how electric vehicles are a foolish, outdated, and wasteful government-sponsored technology.

All this gay talk has got me wondering about some of my favorite bands...

Morbid Angel's "Pain Divine" appears to be unmistakably about enjoying getting ravaged by a man. WTF?

Release this furyMaledictionCursed existanceWrithing in this life of dissentPain for pleasure (i.e. enjoying sodomy)Pain for adorationPain is to godlinessBleeding for Ecstasy (i.e. sodomy probably causes you to bleed, but its worth it)Pain DivineLocked in viciousOffer to the sado-godsNails driven through my dreams (i.e. "dreams" = anus, "nails" = penises)Bleeding - Pain is a god's rewardGliding through these dungeons (i.e. obviously "gliding through these dungeons" means "sex with a lubed anus")Heightened senses overwhelmedHedonistic rupture (the last two lines... obviously about orgasm)Endurance makes one divine

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the official end to World War 2 hostilities and gave the EU and US permission to deport millions of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Mexico who are living in the West illegally on Sunday.

Speaking at Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that while it may not be possible to expel all citizens immediately, those who refuse or delay in returning home may be placed in temporary holding facilities for them. Construction of thousands of holding facilities in Israel, American and Europe must begin as quickly as possible.

With regard to illegal migrants, Netanyahu said, "Whoever can be sent away should be sent away from here as quickly as possible. Those who refuse to return voluntarily will be immediately moved to detention facilities in order to protect individual ethnicity's cultural and national interests."

It seems likely that within the next decade (2 years or 10 years, I don't know?), the collapse of the US dollar will occur. This is a somewhat unusual event, as never before has the US and its citizenry been such a massive fail. Self-reliance is largely unheard of in or near cities and the entire country is dependent on foreign money and products.

Because of this bottom-up dependency (citizen on city/state/fed, city/state on fed, fed on foreign money), once the money stops following down we are looking at all entitlement programs becoming worthless. That is, energy/utility assistance, housing assistance, food assistance, and monetary assistance to buy products made in China.

The long-run effect is a net positive: more self-reliance, more local food production, less wasteful travel, less useless plastic junk produced, less cancerous growth. Our cities centers may actually be occupied by productive people again. Maybe the suburbs will be plowed over and turned into farms.

The problem is that first their will be a period of upset, with densely populated areas which depend heavily on government aid and the financial industry and sub-industries being rather unpleasant.

At the minimum one should expect:- Massive unemployment- Riots (race/class/general upheaval)- Oil and resources becoming very expensive priced in dollars- Hyperinflation on food and commodity prices (and shortages)- Martial law to quell riots/unrest

To avoid these problems, the ideal place to live would be a small family farming community with a strong sense of self-reliance. The further away from financial capitals and liberal culture the better. These are getting harder to find as agribusiness is consolidated into conglomerates and fields are dependent on yearly GMO seed distributions.

Still though, one can visit the small-town farmers markets in every small city and town and still discover locally-produced and family-owned produce. In the case of a collapse, having personal connections to these people and a long history of direct purchase would be infinitely valuable. Having something to barter with would be essential, such as service/skillset, excess essential products stocked up on now, maybe even some pre-65 coinage. Also having access to clean water, like living near an unpolluted stream/river/pond/lake and owning filtration equipment is important.

So ideally we want a home in a small conservative community, with a strong sense of self-reliance, family-owned farms, access to unpolluted water. We want at least a couple acres, with water access not dependent on electricity along with natural form of cooling and heating (e.g. lake/forest). We want it either close enough to the city that we can make the commute to work (for now), or cheap enough that we can afford a second home and far enough away that it is not affected by massive unrest - and even food shortages. We also want some basic isolation for security (maybe off a dirt road, 15 minutes from the highway instead of 5, intelligent self-reliant neighbors).

Once the ideal place is located, having stores of food, water, and energy is important. Having a variety of tools for gathering firewood, fishing, hunting, self-defense, and home repair is important. Immediately establishing good relations within your community and family-owned farms and service businesses would be great. Being within a few miles would be even better. There are many other considerations, but I think this is at least a decent starter for considering how to protect your family's safety and health through the dollar collapse.

Unlike mundane life and video games, a small break in concentration or slight miscalculation would lead to instant death. The rider must maintain complete focus and eliminate any distracting thoughts. Laws, regulations and social restrictions have been totally abandoned. Everything has been reduced a simple and utterly personal rule: perfect action or total annihilation.

Ann’s first tweet came just moments after Democratic strategist and DNC adviser Hilary Rosen lobbed an insult at Ann Romney, suggesting that the 64-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 16 had never held a job.

“Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life,” said Rosen, who was being interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the “war on women.”

Democrats absolutely hate the natural role of women - as giving birth and raising a healthy family. Raising is for governments and liberal propaganda.

A new study from researchers at Jay W. Forrester's institute at MIT says that the world could suffer from "global economic collapse" and "precipitous population decline" if people continue to consume the world's resources at the current pace.

Smithsonian Magazine writes that Australian physicist Graham Turner says "the world is on track for disaster" and that current evidence coincides with a famous, and in some quarters, infamous, academic report from 1972 entitled, "The Limits to Growth."

...

"There is a very clear warning bell being rung here," Turner said. "We are not on a sustainable trajectory."

American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling.

The blueprints for the new drones, which have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories – the US government's principal nuclear research and development agency – and defence contractor Northrop Grumman, were designed to increase flying time "from days to months" while making more power available for operating equipment, according to a project summary published by Sandia.

"It's pretty terrifying prospect," said Chris Coles of Drone Wars UK, which campaigns against the increasing use of drones for both military and civilian purposes. "Drones are much less safe than other aircraft and tend to crash a lot. There is a major push by this industry to increase the use of drones and both the public and government are struggling to keep up with the implications."

Paleontologists in northeast China have discovered a wildly snaggle-toothed skull that belonged to a previously unknown, 120-million-year-old flying reptile.

Named Guidraco venator, which is Chinese and Latin for “ghost dragon hunter,” the meat-eating pterosaur had a wingspan of between 13 and 16 feet. The basket of pointy teeth at the end of its foot-long skull probably helped it catch fish, and a round sail on its head may have stabilized flight.

“This is really an amazing fossil, but the funny thing to me is that it was found in Asia. It looks very similar but not identical to pterosaurs found in Brazil,” said Eberhard “Dino” Frey, a paleontologist at the State Museum of Natural History in Karlsruhe. Frey was not involved in the work, published online Feb. 22 in Naturwissenschaften.

The closest relative to G. venator may be a fossil Frey and his colleagues recovered in 2003, called Ludodactylus sibbicki, adding further evidence that now 40 known species of pterosaurs were more globally distributed than previously thought. “The longer we search, the more of these animals turn up,” Frey said.

By necessity, we live and participate in modern society. Subject to this situation, do we still act "morally" - honest, upright, environmentally friendly - or do we act like "Jon Galt": non productive, dishonest, even disruptive (i.e. basically act like every other selfish modern individual).

In example, would it be more moral to ride a Bicycle/Prius to work, or to drive a giant Hummer and carelessly waste energy. The first appears more moral, but the later could have better long-term consequences (in theory): furthering along the inevitable.